PJI Reduction Trial Receives Spring FARE Grant Award

The 2019 spring cycle grant from the Foundation for Arthroplasty Research and Education (FARE) was awarded to the study: Vancomycin Powder and Dilute Povidone Iodine Lavage for Infection Prophylaxis in High Risk Total Joint Arthroplasty: A Randomized Prospective Trial. William J. Long, MD FRCSC accepted the $50,000 grant at the 2019 AAHKS Spring Meeting. From the introduction:

Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a rare but devastating complication after total joint arthroplasty (TJA) that imposes a significant burden on the entire healthcare system. Specific risk factors to the development of PJI include obesity, diabetes mellitus, ASA score of three or greater, active smoking status, inflammatory arthritis, and immunocompromised status. These patients are considered “high-risk” and may benefit from the implementation of additional protocols to reduce the risk of developing PJI. Povidone-iodine lavage and the administration of vancomycin powder to the wound have demonstrably reduced the risk of postoperative infection in TJA, and spine surgery literature and may provide similar results in TJA patients. NYU Langone Health has designed a multi-center prospective study evaluating the effect of povidone-iodine lavage and vancomycin powder administered to the local wound after TJA. They will investigate the outcomes of combining dilute povidone-iodine lavage with local wound vancomycin powder (vanco-povidone iodine protocol, VPIP) for TJA patients at high risk for infection. There will be 13,400 patients enrolled in total.

AAHKS is committed to advancing patient care by supporting research projects with great potential. For more information on applying for the next FARE Grant cycle, please visit http://aahks.org/share-your-study/.